Musarara withdraws legal bid to stop grain import levy framework

The Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) has withdrawn its High Court application challenging the government's grain import levy framework introduced under Statutory Instrument 87 of 2025.

According to a Notice of Withdrawal filed at the High Court Commercial Division in Harare on June 15, GMAZ, chaired by suspended ZANU-PF Mazowe District Coordinating Committee chairman Tafadzwa Musarara, withdrew the application and tendered wasted costs to the respondents.

The respondents in the matter included the Agricultural Marketing Authority, the Ministers of Agriculture, Finance, Justice, and Industry and Commerce, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency and the Attorney-General.

The withdrawal brings to an end a legal challenge that sought urgent court intervention to stop implementation of the grain levy framework, which GMAZ argued would increase production costs and ultimately raise the prices of staple food products such as bread and mealie meal.

The dispute formed part of a wider debate over the legality and economic impact of Statutory Instrument 87 of 2025.

Questions over the framework intensified after a Treasury communication dated March 3, 2026 reportedly suggested that the statutory instrument could be inconsistent with constitutional provisions and should be repealed.

However, Treasury subsequently clarified its position through correspondence issued on April 30, 2026, in which Finance Secretary George Guvamatanga expressed support for a revised grain marketing framework that retained import levies and related charges under the 2025/26 agricultural season arrangements.

Treasury argued that the gap between import parity prices and local production costs has significant implications for farmer viability, import substitution and overall macroeconomic stability.

Under the framework, the Agricultural Marketing Authority has been designated as the collecting agent for the levies, with proceeds being paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund and allocated, subject to parliamentary approval, towards farmer support programmes and irrigation development initiatives.

Government officials say approximately US$5.7 million has already been collected through the levy system, with part of the funds earmarked for irrigation infrastructure projects and programmes aimed at reducing Zimbabwe's reliance on imported grain.

The policy has received backing from farmer organisations, indigenous millers and government officials who argue that it is necessary to protect local agricultural production, strengthen food security and reduce the country's import bill.

The Indigenous Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe has previously defended the framework, arguing that excessive dependence on imported grain undermines domestic production and weakens industrial development.

Supporters of the policy also contend that the Agricultural Marketing Authority Act provides the legal basis for the collection of levies intended to support agricultural development and sector-specific funding mechanisms.

The withdrawal of the court application is expected to clear the way for the continued implementation of the grain levy framework as government pursues broader import substitution and agricultural development objectives.

The debate over grain imports and domestic production forms part of a wider national strategy aimed at boosting local value addition and reducing dependence on foreign supplies.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has repeatedly called for greater participation in global value chains through value-added production, while Jacob Mudenda has warned that a growing import bill poses risks to industrial development and economic sovereignty.